The Secrets of Fire
by Heavens-Sugar
Summary: Harper has problems with fire and a new past is discovered, a very bad past
1. Fear of Fire

Title: The Secrets of Fire  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Andromeda, not the crew, not even Harper, damn, I do own the people that I created though and the story, so at least there's that.  
  
Archive: Go ahead, that be great, just tell me  
  
Email: reneestamour@yahoo.ca  
  
Pairing: I doubt there will be, but maybe some Harper/Trance, dunno, will see how it goes  
  
Summary: Harper has problems with fire and a new past is discovered, a very bad past  
  
Author's Note: This is my first Adromeda fanfic and my second fanfic overall, my first one is under another name.any review is nice but please try to be nice (  
  
The Secrets of Fire  
  
Two months after Harper joined the Eureka Maru, Rev comes in the scene.  
  
"No Miss Captain! There's no way I'm going to work with a Magog! They stink, they use our bodies to nurse their lil' demon eggs and oh yeah, lets not forget, we're their food!"  
  
Harper stormed out of engineer determined not to let his boss win this fight no matter the consequences that he was sure would follow. He had lived most of his life during Magog raids, surviving through their destruction, savageness and their hunger for flesh. There was no way in hell that he was just going to throw away all of his instincts, not to mention justify their action by working with one of them. Beka followed behind him baffled by his behavior. In all his time on the Eureka Maru, even if it hadn't been long, she had never seen him being so. well, emotional. He had always been passive and reserved, doing everything she asked of him without complaints for fear of being beaten or abandoned. She had reassured him that these assumptions were false, that she would never hit him and that he could have a say in whatever he was suppose to do. She would always listen to his opinion but that didn't mean she wouldn't order him to do something he didn't want to do. That was the leader's job, but she was a humane leader. She saw him in one of the Maru's hallway. He was busily working on a panel as if it was the most important thing in the universe. He seemed to have completely forgotten about her, but "seemed" was the key word here. She crouched down at his level so she would appear less threatening. He was practically shaking with anger.or fear from their argument; she couldn't decide which one. It was getting so bad as he was concentrating on his work; she was worried that he would hurt himself with the nano-welder in his unsteady hands. Beka sighed and tried to convince him again.  
  
"Listen Harper, he's a Wayist monk; he doesn't believe in violence!" calming down she attempted another approach by comforting him "I wouldn't put my crew in this kind of danger..."  
  
He glared up at her; he couldn't believe what she was saying. The thought of a non-violent, carebear Magog was implausible to him. His anger reaching his peek, he opened his mouth to yell at her in frustration when he had a strangely familiar feeling.  
  
Beka watched as Harper's facial features changed from anger to confusion but didn't get a chance to register it when all of a sudden her sleeve caught on fire. She let out a small yelp and franticly waved her arm in the air to extinguish the flame. It went out pretty easily as it had only been a small flame. Luckily she had taken it out before it had burnt her skin. She looked up expecting to see Harper standing in front of her but to her shock he had vanished. She looked around and saw him sitting in one of the corners. He had his arms around his knees and was rocking himself. As she looked closely she could see that his skin had turned a grayish-white.  
  
"Harper? Harper are you all right?" She approached him but stopped when she realized that it only aggravated his state of mind. He was more terrified by what had just transpired then when he had first seen Rev Bem.  
  
"Harper its ok, really"  
  
"N-no, fire. There was a fire. B-Beka please tell me there's no more fire."  
  
"Theres no fire. It's gone. I took it out." Worried at his outburst she put her arm around his shoulders. He visibly flinched but didn't pull away. As Harper closed his eyes from relief he let out a deep breath and rested his head on the bulkhead. They had never discovered the cause of the fire but on that day Beka found out that her engineer had pyrophobia.  
  
***** A year before the present, Andromeda.  
  
The Adromeda violently trembles as enemy missiles bombarded its hull. Everyone, except Harper, who had been in Engineer, had been on the command deck when the attack started.  
  
Captain Dylan Hunt had to muster all his strength just to keep himself from flying all over the place. His knuckles had turned white as he griped the railing. Beka was strapped into her seat, flying the ship and avoiding the blast as much as she could. Tyr was enjoying himself by shooting at the adversary. A little bit too much enjoyment thought Hunt.  
  
"Rommie status?!" The Captain screamed as he tried to get his voice over the loud noises.  
  
The android was holding her own while going through the attacks and processing the information that the Adromeda sent her.  
  
"We haven't sustained any major damage Captain, but if we don't stop them soon, then. lets just say that Harper wont be too happy" She needed to shout just as loudly as Dylan had. He nodded and looked over at Tyr.  
  
Tyr hit the weapons consol one last time. Right before their weapons hit the other ship, Tyr shouted but being stoic as usual "And in a blaze of glory they shall fall!" The ship exploded in million pieces that went soaring everywhere. It was as every bit impressive as Tyr had made it out to be.  
  
Dylan didn't really care if it was striking or not, he was just relived that it was finally over "Good job people, good job"  
  
Trance wasn't so sure though "Um Dylan I don't think its over."  
  
The lights and controls went out when the ship shuddered one last time.  
  
"What the.?" Beka said.  
  
"This isn't good" As typical, Dylan stated the obvious  
  
Beka rolled her eyes at him in the dark "No, you don't say"  
  
Then, just as suddenly as it had went out, everything lighted up when the emergency power kicked in. The Andromeda's hologram appeared in front of Dylan.  
  
"Dylan there was an explosion in machine shop six" she seemed to faze out for a second as she verified her readings "I'm reading intense heat. We've got a fire sir" When Beka heard fire she tensed, she hoped beyond hope that Harper was nowhere near it.  
  
Hunt sighed, he was really getting tired of this "Alright find Mr. Harper and send him down to take care of it" Before Beka could respond to Dylan's request Andromeda hologram had disappeared.  
  
"NO Dylan don't send him!" Beka rushed out of her seat.  
  
Dylan looked at her confused. At that moment Andromeda's persona materialize once again, but this time she didn't appear as strong and confident as before.  
  
"Dylan, Harper was in machine shop six when the explosion occurred, he hasn't come out since"  
  
"Oh my god Harper! I have to get him out of there" Beka was about to leave but Dylan stopped her.  
  
"No Beka I need you here in case our friends' friends come looking for us. Tyr, Rommie go rescue Harper, now! Trance I want you to go prepare Medical for a patient." As they left Dylan took Tyr's position at the weapons consol. Right before Trance went out the door, Beka spoke up.  
  
"Trance remember that you wont just be treating burns." Beka's pleading face waited for the golden girl's response. Trance nodded and left. Oh yes she remembered all too well her best friend's fear of fire.  
  
Dylan was confused again. Did he say that he was really getting tired of this? He wasn't happy that there was yet something else that he didn't know about his crew.  
  
"Beka what's happening?"  
  
"Harper has pyrophobia," Beka said staring off into space.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He has a fear of fire, or a phobia of fire, whichever one you pick they add up to the same thing. At first Harper will stare, for hours, at a fire, not moving, not eating, not sleeping and almost not breathing. He seems transfixed by them. But if they suddenly appear or if they go into his safety zone he freaks out. He starts screaming, and then its not as bad, I can reach him that way. But if it shocks him real bad he goes into a catatonic state. I've always been able to help him at the beginning of those cases so he doesn't stay that way for very long but.now its more serious, he's been there a long time, longer then he's ever been. And-and an explosion that big." Beka couldn't continue it was all too much for her. She had to sit down, all her strength had been depleted from the attack and her worry for her friend.  
  
"Will surely upset him" Dylan finished for her. It took him a fraction of a second to decide there next course of action "Adromeda go on auto-pilot and warn me of there's any sings of ships in our proximity."  
  
"Understood"  
  
"Beka lets go"  
  
"Where are we going?" She got up  
  
"Your going to meet up with Tyr and Rommie and I'm going to Medical"  
  
Beka smiled relieved that she could go help her friend. "Thank you"  
  
"Don't thank me just yet" They left running, going their own ways.  
  
***** When Tyr and Rommie arrived the fire had covered the entire room. The temperature was so extreme that Tyr couldn't come more then three feet from the door before getting burnt from the heat itself.  
  
"Don't you have fire extinguishers in that room?" Tyr said annoyed but Rommie knew that it was just to cover his worry for Harper.  
  
"Yes there is but they must have been damaged by the explosion. Obviously you can't go in without getting burnt but I'm fire resistant. I'll go find him. My body might collapse from the heat after so when I come out be ready to grab him and start running to Medical." He nodded.  
  
She went in with a determined look on her face. She knew that Harper must be terribly brunt but she hoped he wasn't dead. Her logical, android part of her mind told her that there was no way that a human could survive this fire but she suppressed it. She couldn't just discard Harper like this. She continued running in the fire screaming Harper's name. Then she spotted him. Flames surrounded his unconscious body. He didn't look as awful as she had pictured him to be. She ran up to him, picked him up, not even checking if he was dead or not and rushed out of the room. When she came out she saw that Beka had joined them. She handed Harper to Tyr and crumpled to the floor from the heat. Tyr swung him on his shoulder and hurried to Medical not even second glancing Rommie to see if she was ok.  
  
"Rommie are you alright?!" Beka franticly said torn between helping Rommie or following Tyr  
  
"I'm fine. Just go to Medical, I'll meet up with you in a minute." Beka hesitated for a moment still unsure but then darted after Tyr  
  
*****  
  
Tyr ran in Medical with Harper still on his shoulders. He spotted the bed and ever so gently, which was quite strange to see from a Neichien, laid him down on it. Trance was right beside Harper in a second checking for burns. Tyr stared at her with a stern expression on his face.  
  
"Help him now" Trance could hear a faint growling coming from him.  
  
Dylan was about to say something about Tyr's behavior when Trance lifted up her hand to stop him. She knew that Tyr was only worried about Harper but she didn't have time to take care of Tyr right now. She looked up at him and matched his gaze. With her new traits as the golden girl she looked as frightening as he did. Dylan noted that Tyr seemed to shrink in her presence. At that time Beka burst into Medical.  
  
"I'm doing the best I can. Now don't rush or interrupt me or it might cost his life" Trance said as much to Tyr as to Beka and Dylan. They all knew who was in command at the moment. She started to look over Harper again; he didn't appear to have sustained any burns. This didn't make sense to her. He had to have some kind of injury. Of course he was unconscious but she thought that it resulted more from his fears then anything else.  
  
"Andromeda is there anything that I missed?" Dylan, Tyr and Beka could definitely hear the confusion in her voice. Trance was relieved that he wasn't burned but in a way she was more worried because she didn't understand any of this. None of her abilities showed or explained to her his reasons to be physically fine.  
  
"No you haven't missed anything. I have scanned his entire body and it appears that he has no burns what so ever. Which is quite incredible since any other human and humanoid would have been close to ashes by the time my android persona reached him."  
  
They were all speechless at this new piece of information. Dylan was about to ask how all this was possible when Harper opened his eyes, sat up and started to scream in terror. Beka rushed up to him and put her arms around him as she always did when this sort of incident happened. Trance stepped away to give Beka enough room. Tyr and Dylan were too shocked to do anything.  
  
"Its ok Harper there's no more fire. It's gone, we took it out. Shhhhh its ok." Harper tried to claw his way out; he hadn't stopped screaming. Beka wouldn't let him go, she knew that if she did he would hurt himself; she would also never be able to reach him again, he would be lost to all of them forever. Dylan and Tyr were about to help her restrain him when Trance looked at them and shook her head to stop them.  
  
"Trance maybe you should give him a sedative" Andromeda said still a bit unsure of what was happening.  
  
"No that wouldn't help at all, it would only make things worst, trust me." Andromeda was about to disagree but decided to stay quiet as she realized how grim Trance had sounded.  
  
*****  
  
After almost an hour Harper had calmed down. Unfortunately though he had become catatonic, as Beka had feared he was going to do, but she never left him. She still had a shred of hope that he was going to be alright. Four days after the incident Harper finally came out of his unresponsive state. He recovered fully, but that day furthered his collections of nightmares. The crew of the Adromeda investigated the odd reasons for him to have survived that fire but they never found out how it had happened. For now on they were always overly careful with fire or the potential of a fire  
  
***** A month before the present  
  
Dylan taped his fingers impatiently on the sliptream drive chair. Harper was 20 minutes late for his shift. He didn't like it when his crew was late. What if something happened and he didn't have the people he needed to get themselves out of trouble?  
  
"Andromeda can you go wake up Mr. Harper"  
  
"My Avatar is already on her way"  
  
Dylan frowned "Why don't you just wake him yourself, it would be a lot faster"  
  
"She thought that some very cold water should be involved in waking up Mr. Harper." Adromeda face never changed, she stayed serious as ever.  
  
"Oh" Dylan shook his head and chuckled.  
  
******  
  
Rommie tip toed into Harper's quarters with the bucket of water in her hands. She couldn't wait to see his expression when he woke up from the water.  
  
The lights were still out but as she got closer to Harper's room she could make out a faint glow. She was close enough to see Harper now. To her surprise he wasn't sleeping but sitting up in his bed staring at whatever was making the light. She couldn't see what was creating the glow just yet since the wall was hiding it. The light seemed to dance around in constant movement, just like.fire. Rommie panicked. She ran into his room and sure enough a small fire was burning in one of the corner. All lights dies out as she threw the water that was previously meant for Harper at the fire.  
  
"Andromeda lights! Harper are you okay?" Harper snapped out of it; he looked at Rommie confused  
  
"Rommie?.What happened? Why are you here? Shit I'm late!"  
  
"No its okay Harper. Don't worry about being late right now.  
  
"Um.okay then" He was even more perplexed now.  
  
"Harper what happened? How did the fire start?"  
  
"There's a fire!?!" His face visibly blanched and his eyes got bigger.  
  
"There was a fire" she made sure to stress out the word 'was'.  
  
"Oh. Where was it?"  
  
"In your room. You were staring at it!"  
  
"I was?"  
  
Rommie was getting exasperated "Yes, don't you remember!?!"  
  
"I.um.I think.I think I remember.ya, ya in that corner!" He pointed out were at had been, "I don't remember how it started though. Funny thing is I was dreaming of fire before waking up."  
  
"I see. why didn't Andromeda sense there was a fire? Even with privacy mode, as I know you always put that on, she would detect it."  
  
Harper fidgeted guiltily "Um, you see I kinda changed it for my quarters so its even more private"  
  
Rommie rolled her eyes "Well it doesn't matter right now.. are you going to be alright?"  
  
"Yeah I'm fine" Se looked at him suspiciously "No really I'm fine"  
  
"Still, I want you to go to Medical"  
  
"Aw come on, I'm good, I don't need to go"  
  
"Harper we are not debating this. Go, now"  
  
"Yes mother"  
  
***** Present.  
  
Beka was sitting in the Command Deck bored as ever. Two days ago Harper had taken the Eureka Maru for his vacation and he was suppose to be coming back today. She had to admit that being without Harper, even if he was annoying sometimes, was quite dull. Just then the Maru came out of slipstream.  
  
Beka opened a channel "Welcome back Harper"  
  
She waited for a response but none came "Harper you there?"  
  
Again, silence. Beka was getting worried  
  
"Andromeda?"  
  
Adromeda appeared on the viewer screen. She also looked concerned which didn't reassure Beka at all. "I am not detecting any life forms on the Maru"  
  
"What?!"  
  
****** Harper could remember going his merry way to meet the Andromeda when all of a sudden a ball of light appeared in front of him, hit him and then there was only blackness. He had woken up on a bed that he was sure wasn't Andromeda's or the Maru's. He hadn't moved or opened his eyes yet, pretending he was still unconscious, to see if he could find out anything. Except it had been an hour since then and nothing had happened. He decided to open his eyes and see what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into this time. It wasn't really amazing: he was in a gray room, with a gray desk and closet and a gray bed. There was something about this room that he couldn't put his finger on. It seemed vaguely familiar. Just then for some unknown reason the room made him think of needles, pain and fire. He shuddered at the thought of all three of those things; especially the last one. He made himself suppress the thoughts and got up from the bed to see what was in the closet. On the shelves there was gray undergarment and shoes; hanging from the poll, not to his surprise, were gray shirts and pants.  
  
"These people definitely have a color problem."  
  
"Ah yes you always complained about the dullness of the colors didn't you Edan?"  
  
Harper swirled around to face the man that had just spoken. He was a tall dark man. He wore a long black hooded garment that hid almost everything except for his hands and face. From what Harper could see he had brown skin, short black hair, piercing eyes that were completely black and claw like nails on his hands. There was something also familiar about him. But he knew whomever this man was he wasn't there to help him.  
  
"What, you don't recognize me Edan?" The man said tauntingly "Do you know where you are my little fire starter?"  
  
Harper couldn't say anything; he was too terrified of this man. He couldn't stand his voice and either. It sounded almost demonic. Images of fire came to his mind again, and pain, excruciating pain.  
  
"Well it doesn't matter, you'll soon remember this place and me. Oh yes you definitely will." He smiled evilly. Harper could see a faint red glow in his eyes.  
  
***** To Be Continued 


	2. Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda, the crew or Harper but Zaim, Madra, Mallory and Adon Eblis are mine  
  
Archive: Go ahead, that be great, just tell me  
  
Email: reneestamour@yahoo.ca  
  
Pairing: Harper/Trance still might happen  
  
Author's Note: I know it's been so long I haven't updated this story, but here you go. I'll try not to make you wait so long next time. Just a couple of thing I've got to add about the significance of the names.  
  
Zaim: leader, chief  
  
Madra: mother  
  
Mallory: war counselor  
  
Adon: this means the Lord, but I use it as a title to show respect and power Eblis: devil  
  
There's only going to be one more person that's going to have a name that has meaning, well maybe the others too but they wont be all that important. Oh and thanx for the reviews! I can't believe there's no slipstream anymore though. I wish it would come back, I liked that board. Hey if anyone wants to be my beta reader I'd appreciate it **looks around hopefully** Oh well on with the story.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"What do you mean he's not onboard?" Dylan was annoyed. He couldn't believe that Harper had once again, somehow, gotten himself into trouble. After Beka had found out that her best friend was missing she had contacted Dylan and they had all gathered on the Maru. Dylan, Beka, Rommie and Tyr were all standing on the command deck while Trance had gone searching by herself, muttering incomprehensibly.  
  
"Well, obviously, it means that he's no longer onboard.sir" Tyr said aggravated by Dylan's question. Although the annoyance was more brought on by his worry for Harper  
  
Dylan's angry gaze shot up. He was so irritated that he was about to hit Tyr in the face, an act he realized later that he would have regretted. Luckily Beka intervened.  
  
"Will you guys just quite it! For the love of God, Harper's more important right now, settle your dispute about who's more manly afterward." Beka walked away with Rommie, shaking her head, disgusted from their quarrel and trying not to hit both men herself just to knock some sense into them. Dylan and Tyr, both ashamed of their action, joined the women.  
  
" Look we we're wrong and we're sorry, isn't that right Tyr?" Tyr sighed and gave a reluctant nod.  
  
Everybody was silent when Rommie finally decided to speak up "Umm.is it just me or does anyone realize how everything just doesn't seem to make sense? I don't think it was the aliens from the portal; I don't detect any of their signatures so Harper couldn't just disappear without a trace. And second, the ship couldn't just find Andromeda in slipstream, let alone go into slipstream without a pilot."  
  
"Your right, but." Dylan was cut off by a noise coming from one of the corridors. He was about to go investigate when Trance appeared still muttering to herself. While she was exploring she had discovered that whatever had happened to Harper had something to do with his past, not concerning Earth but another past. However, what confused her even more was the fact that it also related to herself and her people, although she didn't know how.  
  
"Trance did you find something?" Beka asked hopefully.  
  
Trance opened her mouth to say something but then frowned and stopped herself. She didn't know how much they could handle; let alone how much she could reveal. She was still fuzzy on the whole thing herself.  
  
"His past caught up with him."  
  
*****  
  
The other man had shaken Harper pretty badly. He was glad that he had finally left but the image of his glowing red eyes wouldn't leave Harper's mind. He knew he had seen those eyes before and he also knew, for his best interest, that he had to get away from them and their owner. Something was very wrong here but Harper couldn't remember what. The only flicker of remembrance was the same as before: needles, pain and fire. He shuddered involuntarily.  
  
"Such things are better avoided" Harper whispered to himself. He realized that his feet were bare and remembered the clothing in the closet.  
  
"Well I guess it wouldn't be that bad if I borrowed some socks.and uh maybe some shoes. Its not like I'm giving in to them, whatever giving in to them would be." He was approaching the closet when he had a strange feeling. His vision started to blur and he felt faint; he put a hand on the wall to steady himself but it didn't help him.  
  
**Flashback**  
  
Harper had been quite startled by the change of scenery. Not that the place was that different, actually it was the same except it seemed bigger. What shocked him the most was the fact that he was now shorter and that there were also children in the room, and some didn't look human. He then realized that he himself was a child.  
  
He could feel warm arms holding him tight. He felt safe in this embrace. He knew that whoever held him loved him very much and the feeling was returned, although he had no idea who this girl was. It was obvious that she was older then him in this odd memory. When he looked up the details of her face were hazy. The only clear thing he could tell was her beautiful red hair. There was also the distinct scent of vanilla, which was kind of odd in such a place but it somehow made sense. She had always had that sweet aroma around her and he was sure of that. Vanilla had forever been Harper's favorite scent. Thinking about this now he wondered if his preference had originated from this. Everything else was a blur, like his vanilla scented protector, he couldn't make out anyone else's faces either.  
  
Just then he heard a door opening. The girl holding him tensed and held him even tighter. Another boy got up and stood in front of all the children. His stance was that of a leader protecting his charge. Harper knew he should recognize him more then anybody else but he still couldn't place him. He looked at the door that had just been opened and saw a new kid being thrown into the room. The man that had 'greeted' him after he had woken up that day, walked into the room. His appearance hadn't changed; although he did seem bigger. He was just as scary and menacing as before, even more so. As he looked at all the children his gaze fell upon Harper and a wicked smile crossed his face. The boy/leader tensed.  
  
"Adon Eblis, sir." the child said trying to catch the cloaked figure's attention.  
  
"Well Zaim it looks like you have a new 'brother' for your pathetic family here" the man said with a snarl.  
  
"Protect them while you can," He said mockingly " because your sixteenth birthdays' coming up. After that we're taking you away from here." His eyes began to glow red. In a fluent movement he struck the boy's face. Zaim stumbled to his knees. The creature's nails dug into his flesh as he grabbed his throat and lifted him up. Harper wanted to go help him but the girl held him back. It wasn't really hard; Harper had only been a small child at the time.  
  
Still holding the boy named Zaim, Eblis shrugged.  
  
"Well it's not like it really matters, you're just as weak as the others. Your protection is worth nothing." Finally letting go of him he glanced at Harper for one last time and left the scared children. Zaim picked himself up and touched his soar throat. Pure raw anger filled Harper. He couldn't stand the way the Adon had treated the other boy. He felt the girl rocking him and he realized that she was whispering in his ears soothingly.  
  
"Edan you need to calm yourself. You know what happens when you can't control your emotions" He knew she was right. Though the exact reason was still vague to him at the moment, he somehow felt that when this had actually happened he had known what she was talking about.  
  
Then a small childish voice was heard " Zaim are you going to be alright". Harper realized he had been the one that had spoken. The older boy cleared his throat and smiled.  
  
"Yes I'm fine Edan"  
  
Drawing his attention to the new boy, Zaim approached him. He had huddled into a corner the second he had been released in the room. The only thing that Harper could make out of the stranger was that he appeared human.  
  
"Hey there, my name's Zaim. I'm the oldest here" He stuck out his hand. The boy looked at his outstretched hand and then at his face. At last making a conclusion, he accepted the offered hand and got up.  
  
"The name's Mallory." Zaim nodded. Mallory curiously peaked over Zaim's shoulder and looked at the other children.  
  
"What 'bout them?" he took a couple of steps in their direction. Zaim turned to the girl that was holding Harper and smiled affectionately at her. Harper finally had a better look at him. He couldn't make out the exact details of his face but as he looked closer at him he realized that he wasn't human. From what he could tell the other boy had glowing silver eyes, pointed ears, and blue hair. Like the red haired girl, Harper felt close to him. He also knew that Zaim and the girl were somewhat of a couple.  
  
"That's Madra and the little one she's holding is Edan. They're the only other humans right now. Edan's the youngest one here. We all pitch in in raising him, well the best that we can in this place anyways, especially Madra."  
  
"Hi there"  
  
Again Harper heard himself speak "I start fires. What's your gift?" But he didn't get the chance to hear Mallory's answer as the room faded away.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
Lightheaded and ears buzzing, Harper staggered to his bed to lie down. The flashes had only lasted a minute but it had taken its toll on him. Finally recovered, Harper contemplated what had just happened and what it meant. To him none of this made sense. He clearly remembered his childhood on Earth. Not to mention the torture inflicted by the Neitzschean and the terror caused by the Magogs. However the memory had seemed so real. He reached out to touch the walls to see if they were actually there. To his surprise even the feel of them seemed familiar. Furthermore he didn't understand what had he meant when he had said he started fires. All he knew was that he hated them and he would never intentionally start one. Zaim, Madra and Mallory.who where this people Harper thought. He let out a long sigh and shook his head.  
  
"I have to get out of here. This place is slowly driving me insane and I'm sure that the Adon what's his face isn't a psychiatrist." Weakened by the flashback, Harper drifted off to sleep.  
  
Author's note: Yes its me again. I want to know if anyone can figure out who Zaim and Mallory really are.you don't know Madra or Eblis..think of this as a lil' quiz, lol 


	3. More Memories

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, everyone knows that  
  
Email: reneestamour@yahoo.ca  
  
Author's Note: Sorry guys I know this isn't long but it's all I can give you for now. Its gonna be longer next time. So just think of this as a sample  
  
Taal - thanx for telling me, I didn't even realize that I didn't accept anonymous reviewing, sorry people. I fixed that now so that means you can all review! heheheh  
  
Dragon of the Elements - Nice try, it's not her but I'm happy someone tried. Hint: both of these people are a little subtler in the real Andromeda universe so they aren't big characters, especially Mallory.  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 ½.  
  
"Trance please explain" Dylan asked. They were all waiting impatiently for her to respond; if Trance had been her younger purple self she would have been fidgeting nervously from their stares. For now, though, she seemed to be thinking of an answer and putting everything together.  
  
"Well I don't exactly understand it myself," she said uncertainly "but whatever happened to Harper seem to be related to his childhood."  
  
Tyr spoke up "So you mean Earth."  
  
"What, Neitzscheans or Magogs again?" Beka added.  
  
" No, something worst, something he had long forgotten"  
  
Dylan stopped pacing and looked at her "Trance this doesn't make any sense"  
  
"I know but that's all I can give you"  
  
"Alright, well there's nothing else we can do on the Maru. We might as well go to Command and start searching for him.somehow."  
  
Everyone headed for Command however before Trance could join them she felt a hand grab her arm. As she turned around she saw Beka's curious but concerned face looking at her.  
  
"Trance there's something else isn't there, you're not telling us everything" Beka knew her friend and she was certain that Trance was hiding something. Trance just stared at her. It was tearing inside her not being able to tell them everything but she had to stay strong. She always had to stay strong. Beka seem to understand and nodded.  
  
"Trance you know I trust you but I hope you're doing the right thing." Seeing that she had nothing else to say, Beka left the miserable woman.  
  
"I hope so too Beka. I hope so too" Trance whispered to herself.  
  
*****  
  
Darkness surrounded him. He knew that it wouldn't last long, it never did. Most people would be relived to have known this, but he knew that the real monsters lived in the light, the harsh blinding light. He remembered pain and screaming in the light. Flickers of once buried images drifted closer to his consciousness.  
  
~ The first thing that registered in his mind was the fact that a light was shinning in his eyes, then he felt the unmistakable pressure of leather restraints on his wrist, ankles, waist, and one preventing his head from moving. He was well aware what came next: tests, torturous test. Oh yes he knew what would happen next but his young mind didn't know why it was happening. ~  
  
~ The man with the glowing red eyes had made him do a terrible thing today. He had lit another person, he had killed him with fire.burned him alive. There was always pain and screaming in the light. At the age of four the innocents of youth had already been stolen from him. ~  
  
~ Vanilla filled the air. he was safe. ~  
  
~ Claw like fingers gripped his shoulders unkindly. "You, my boy, are very important, very important indeed."~  
  
~ "Put it on fire now!" The dark figure approached him menacingly. The small child did everything he could to get away from it. He had problems controlling his little body as it shook violently from terror and exhaustion. But this time he would refuse; he didn't care anymore what might happen to him. He was sick and tired of this life he was forced to live. If he could, he would put an end to it. He was but a child of six after all.  
  
"No" he said in small whisper almost too low to be heard. He felt the familiar excruciating pain in his stomach. The pain came from the powerful mind of his tormenter. He let out a scream and crumpled to the cold hard floor.  
  
"What did you say you little brat?" Adon Eblis spat.  
  
A little more defiantly "I said no!" Somewhat surprised by the child's disobedience, the Adon quickly recovered and sneered at him.  
  
"If that's how you want it." He looked at the ceiling and nodded as if someone else was watching.  
  
"Bring him in" Moments latter more men with cloaks and claw like fingers came in dragging the beaten body of an unconscious fifteen year old.  
  
"Zaim!" Edan felt tears trailing down his cheeks as he saw his protector and father figure suffering because of him.  
  
"You see Edan if you don't do what I want Zaim will die and if that doesn't work, well I'll do it all over again with Madra"  
  
"Fine. I'll cooperate," he said, giving up. In the end they always got what they wanted.~  
  
~ Spiky blue hair and the unusual sound of laughter. ~  
  
~ "It's time, we're getting out of here" ~  
  
~ They were all running. Zaim was in the front leading the group with Mallory right beside him; Madra was a couple of feet away carrying Edan and the other children were in the back. ~  
  
~ "We can't leave Madra! The Ad.the Adon will kill her!" the child screamed while struggling to get free from the grip of the other boy.  
  
"Edan we don't have a choice" Zaim picked up Edan and fled.~  
  
~Your name is now Seamus Zelazny Harper"~  
  
~ Fire starter.fire starter.fire starter.~  
  
***** ~ Fire Sta.~  
  
Harper woke up screaming and gasping for air. He was drenched in sweat and he had fallen off his bed. He knew that he would have a nasty bruise on his elbows latter on; in fact, it had already begun to show. Somewhere he heard the distinct crackling sound of fire. To his relief a fire extinguisher went off. His captors had been prepared for him.  
  
This was a nightmare. His barriers were falling apart and he knew it. He had never realized he had had them but now he could definitely feel them tearing apart as fragments of forgotten memories assaulted his mind, control over his feeling dissolved, and his identity began to shatter. Millions of question went thru his mind. Again he wondered about the blue haired boy, Mallory and the red haired, vanilla scented girl. Where were they now? What was his real name? What about his parents, were they real? He knew that Brendan existed, but what did that mean? Was he even his cousin? Everything was a jumbled mass of confusion. The only thing he could truly hold on to, his single link to sanity, was the knowledge that Andromeda was real and that was all he needed.  
  
As he took control of himself he came to realize that someone was standing over him. He didn't need to look up to know who he was.  
  
"Adon Eblis." He heard the creature laugh evilly  
  
"I told you you would remember me" Harper tried not to shudder as he heard those words. He felt himself being roughly lifted up and again staring into his dead evil eyes.  
  
"You will be punished for your actions. I do not take it well when someone escapes. Especially not by my little fire starter" He paused for a second, thinking.  
  
"Have you ever read 1984? It's a novel written by a human named George Orwell. It's fascinating really. Well thought up." Again he paused and looked at Harper. His mouth twisted into a horrific grin. Harper worked feverishly not to start screaming.  
  
The Adon spoke once more "Room 101"  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: So no one wants to be my beta reader, awwww. well I guess you're all gonna have to forgive my errors then, and yes I make lots of them, I'm only French you know 


	4. Strangers, Friends and Enemies

Author's Note: I know it's been too long.again, but oh well what can you do. I thank Ta'al for beta-ing my story, it must of taken lots of patience to actually do it since I kept on saying I was going to send and I didn't. Thank you again  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Harper had been dragged into a small gray room that was otherwise bare except for an examining chair and some restraints in the middle. At first he had been tied down loosely but then he realized, a bit too late, that the more he struggled the further the restraints tightened. Now the very familiar leather straps were cutting off his circulation. The Adon had left him alone with his thoughts. The only thing that Harper could do at the moment was wait and worry. He was quite sure that whatever that they were about to do to him in this room wouldn't be pleasant to say the least.  
  
The time seemed to stretch indefinitely before he finally heard the screech of the door opening. He saw a cloaked figure approaching him and he prepared for the worst. But to his surprise he saw blond hair poking out of the hood. Hope and relief filled his heart.  
  
"Beka? Is that you" Harper questioned, he was still a bit uncertain about his luck.  
  
"Yes it's me, now be quiet before someone hears you" She hissed  
  
Harper flinched but decided to heed her words, she was probably just upset that he had gotten himself into trouble again. He stayed still as she unbuckled the restraint, but the second he was free he lunged for Beka, wrapping his tiny arms around her waist in a big hug. He had never been so happy to see her in his life. Instead of warming to the embrace, Beka tore his arms from around her and harshly pushed him away. Harper tried to hide his hurt expression but he was just too bewildered by Beka's reaction.  
  
"Listen, you dirty little mudfoot," She looked at him angrily "The only reason I came here to get you was because you're a very valuable commodity when it comes to fixing things, but don't chance it. Maybe I should just leave you here." She grabbed his slender wrist and started pulling him towards the door. Harper was just too shocked to move.  
  
"B-Beka what's wrong with you?" He whispered. She whirled around, twisting his arm at the same time, and hit his face hard. Unprepared for the blow, Harper went flying to the ground and let out a small whimper. Beka crouched beside him, as he looked at her face he saw a cruel smirk on her face.  
  
"Really Harper don't be so pathetic" She then stroked his face "Such a beautiful slave" Harper didn't understand what was going on. Beka had never acted this way but it had to be her, or was it? All this didn't matter because as he looked closely into her eyes he saw something that scared him deeply, lust, terrible murderous lust. He knew he had to get away but she had a strong grip on his arms.  
  
"Please Beka, let me go" Harper pleaded. He struggled but couldn't get free.  
  
Beka's smirk widened, she truly looked insane. " Now that you have a willing partner you shy away. Tsk tsk. What shall I do with you? I can't just discard you; I gave too much money to your previous owner for that." Harper looked surprised at her. Beka chuckled almost sympathetically.  
  
"What? You didn't know I owned your ass. Full price, which mean every part of you belongs to me. mind, body and soul. I actually hid the ownership papers under my bed, where I knew you wouldn't look. I decided to keep them, in case I wanted to sell you."  
  
Harper didn't move, he just looked at her in alarm and disbelief.  
  
"You don't believe me? Tell you what, you come with me like a good little slave and I'll show you the proof."   
  
Harper finally broke out of his daze "N-no you're l-lying!" As he was tugging violently to liberate himself he accidentally kicked her in the shins.   
  
"You wretched little creature!" Beka pushed him on the ground and put her knees on his hips to keep him from moving. He resisted as much as he could but her grasp only tightened. She held him so strongly that her nails started to bite trough his skin until tiny droplets of blood ran down his arms. Harper was frantic. He couldn't help himself as all the restraint that kept his emotions in control came undone.  
  
"Let me go! Let me go!" He screamed in terror. He heard a whooshing sound and a shriek that followed. As he looked up he saw Beka, who had relented her hold on him, she wason fire. The fire climbed her arm and reached her chest and neck. She kept screaming in pain.  
  
"Oh my god, Beka! Beka, I'm so sorry! Beka!" Then her glare settled upon him.  
  
"You did this to me! You're killing me! You no good, ungrateful brat!"  
  
"No Beka I didn't mean to!" He implored feeling tremendously guiltily. She leaped towards him, hoping to spread the fire onto him. Harper was too late to move as he saw her coming towards him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the agony that would surely come. He felt her body collide with his and sensed the searing heat of the flames on his skin. He let out a scream, but then he felt nothing. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around the bare room. There were no evidence that Beka or the fire had been there. Harper let out a shaky breath; he was in terrible shock. He vaguely realised that someone was in the room. As Harper's tear streaked face tilted to look at the other person he saw the Adon staring at him satisfied.  
  
"I-it wasn't real" Harper said weakly, trying to convince himself more then the Adon..  
  
Adon Eblis' face twisted into a parody of a smile "It's as real as your mind makes it." Harper felt a twinge of pain from his wrists. To his surprise he saw nail marks, streaks of blood, and bruises forming where Beka had held him.  
  
Harper's mind began spinning, the shock finally getting to him. His body felt tired and heavy and his vision blurred. He fell to the cold hard floor as all thoughts left him.  
  
*****   
  
"We know that Harper went to the Ranger's drift, and we found the abandoned ship here, close to the Algarimian Sun " Rommie was bent over a star chart showing to the crew visually where Harper had been. Both places had been marked by red dots.  
  
"Well there's only a couple of slipstream routs that could connect both areas." Beka said hopefully. The paths appeared on the chart as Beka trailed her finger along the possible ways.  
  
Dylan nodded "Alright, I suppose our only chances on finding Mr. Harper is back tracking the routes"  
  
Trance, who had walked into Command only a couple of moments ago, spoke up. "Don't"  
  
Dylan looked up perplexed "Don't what?"  
  
"Don't go that way"  
  
"Why, why not go that way?" Bake asked worriedly and stood up from her seat.  
  
Trances turned and gave her a sad smile. She placed a small golden hand on Beka's shoulder to calm her. She realized that the blond woman had been shaking from concern for her good friend. Her eyes had also glazed over as a result of the unshed tears that stung her eyes. She truly did care for Harper.  
  
"Because you won't find him if you do" she kept her gaze on Beka. "You have to go that way." She pointed to another rout. "Follow the Evening Star"  
  
"Trance that's completely the opposite of the other routes!" Dylan said frustrated. "The only place Harper could have went would be between the Drift and the Algarimian Sun. It's the logical course. We must track his path."  
  
Trance suddenly snapped her attention back to the Captain. Her hands had come to rest rigidly beside her sides. The air became colder as she stared angrily at him "If you do not heed my words than we well never see Harper alive. He will suffer tremendously until he dies. Only one thing will stay with him until his last breath, the question as to why we did not care enough to save him. And you will have to live with the fact that you let him rot in misery and pain. Your precious Commonwealth will never last, nor in fact come into existence, without him" Realising she had said too much she stopped. She let her clenched hands relax and her face soften unto a pleading look. "Dylan please put your trust in me again. You have listen to me before, even if it had seemed completely ridiculous. Have you ever regretted it? Have I ever failed you?"  
  
Dylan sighed. "Trance I'm not sure. You obviously know more than you're telling us. Hell you've always known more than usâE¦" He looked at the other faces in the room. Tyr stared at him, waiting to see what he would do, Beka was avoiding his eyes and Rommie was doing some calculations. But the crew all shared one thing in common, they seemed as uncertain as him  
  
"But I." He sighed again and rubbed his weary face with his hands. "What are the probabilities?"  
  
"0.008751 if you go towards the Ranger's Drift, the Evening Star would be 0.991249"  
  
"Ninety-nine percent, um Dylan I think we should listen to her" Rommie said  
  
Dylan's shoulder slumped as he gave in. "Alright we go your way"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
*****  
  
Harper woke up to the feeling of prodding fingers on his face. He held his breath as waves of panic threatened to overpower him. He was at first sure that whoever was touching him meant to harm him but he soon realized that the other person was only curious. He slowly opened his eyes, careful not be too sudden as not to provoke the stranger. He looked up to see a dirty face hovered over him. Harper wasn't sure how old the man was because of the dirt covering him but he guessed that he was about the same age as him, maybe a bit older. He had long brown matted hair, although he didn't know if the shade of his hair was because of the filth or if it was his natural color, and blue eyes; thankfully he looked Human. When he realized that Harper was awake his lips twitched as if to smile but it quickly turned into a frown.  
  
"Good your awake. How are you feeling? Of course that's a pretty stupid question. You must be feeling awful. No one is in his or her best state here. Well maybe except the Guardians" He turned his face and let out small growl. Harper tried to see who he was glaring at but the man's body was hiding whomever it was. The man turned his attention back to Harper and chuckle silently. "I'm sorry, I talk too much as you can see. I suspect it's going to be the death of me one of these days." He let out his hands in a friendly gesture "The name's Howahkan. I was assigned to show you around and make sure you know the rules"  
  
Harper hesitated for a second but then grasped Howahken's hand. The man lifted him up with enough ease and grace that astounded Harper. "My name is E. Harper. Harper's my name." Howahken's eyebrows lifted up but he smartly kept quiet. After all it was not his business.  
  
"Come I will show you the place" Harper left the corner that he had been lying in and followed the other man. Numerous people shuffled around him, some of them where too alien for him to even recognize their race or gender.  
  
"This is the Dinning room. Obviously, it is the place where we receive our meals, it's also the only time when you will get to socialize with the other 'patients'." Harper looked around again and noted that no one was actually really socializing. They just wandered around, avoiding each other's faces. In fact Harper and Howahken were the only ones talking, well Howahken was.  
  
".before we used to have our meals in our rooms. Some patients lost their minds from the lack of contact with other people so the Adons were forced to give us the Dinning room. Lots of good that did. Anyways, that's where you get your food and that's where you eat it" They halted near a simple table. Some people were silently eating their food, well what Harper could only guess was food.  
  
"Come..." They continued walking for a couple of minutes until they stopped again. Howahken pointed at someone in a uniform.  
  
"That's our Guardian. Everyone is assigned to one. They are the Adons' favorite or most well behaved 'patients'. Their job is to watch the others and if they see any hint of rebelling they punish those involved and then inform the Adons. Unfortunately, ours is the most vicious. Her gift is to read minds, so be careful what you think because she will not hesitate to inflict pain upon you." Harper looked at the woman who was his Guardian. She had green eyes and her head had been shaved. His Guardian stood there watching everybody with a sneer, never letting her guard down. Harper knew that she could have been beautiful once but now, she was so cold and uncaring that it marred her prettiness. She was a traitor, a vile woman with a uniform. He instantly disliked her.  
  
"Wait here, I'll be right back" Harper nodded his head as Howahken made his way towards a big metal door and disappeared behind it.  
  
Harper sat down on the floor, too tired and dizzy to stand anymore, when he felt something pulling at his sleeve. He looked over his shoulder to see an old woman with white silvery hair. She moved to sit beside him, never letting her eyes leave his.  
  
"You are the Bodaway" The old lady croaked. She seemed quite pleased with her discovery.  
  
"Excuse me?" Harper was in no mood for riddles.  
  
She sighed in frustration as if he should know what she was talking about. "The Bodaway," she emphasized the word "the fire-maker"  
  
Harper couldn't suppress a gasp. At first he had though that the lady was insane, she certainly looked that way with her shining eyes, untamed hair and the way she fidgeted, but now he could see wisdom in her visage. "What are you talking about?" He said uncertainly.  
  
She smiled and patted his head. "Do not be afraid of the fire, my son. It is not your curse but a beautiful gift. Learn to control it and only then will you be able to live your life. Use it to your advantage and you will see. You have great power." She bounced up and skipped away mumbling to herself.  
  
"Wait!" Harper got up but it was too late, she was already gone. Then he heard someone clearing his throat behind him. When he turned he saw Adon Eblis and Howahken, who had his head bowed down. Howahken quickly looked up with an apologetic _expression and just as quickly left.  
  
"What do you want?" Harper sneered  
  
The Adon hissed and his eyes flashed red sparks. Harper couldn't help but realise that the monster's nails had elongated and become sharper. Quite suddenly Harper felt searing pain in his abdomen and his legs became weak. He fell on his knees, knowing full well that he would have ghastly bruises on both of them. "It would be good for you to learn your place." The Adon clutch his small shoulders and violently lifted him up.  
  
"I will let this pass, but only this one instance. Next time you will regret it. Now Edan, I think it is time for you to meet your Guardian" He looked at the women with the bald head and beckoned her to come. She came without hesitation, never missing a beat in pleasing her master. As she came she harshly pushed and spit on the weakest prisoners. She truly was despising Harper thought.  
  
"Ah here we go, my Guardian this is your new charge." He shoved Harper in front of her.  
  
"Make sure to watch him carefully, more then the others actually. He is quite a resourceful one and I do not want to lose him. He is too powerful and important for that. If he disobeys the rules you can use any punishment you see fit, just don't kill him." Her cruel smile intensified as she imagined all the brutal thing she would do to him. "Notify me after" He seemed to think for a moment "Oh and don't scar his face or disfigure his body." Her shoulder fell in disappointment and she appeared to sulk.  
  
"Yes Adon" She bowed her head to him.  
  
Her hateful eyes settled on Harper but he couldn't help but stare back. She tensed and seemed uncertain for a moment.  
  
"That is all, you may leave" She nodded again. When she left Harper made a startling discovery. She had distinctly smelled of vanilla. At first he hadn't detected it but when she had turned the gentle scent had flowed toward him. No, no it can't be her, Harper thought, but he knew that it was.   
  
*****  
  
Author's Note: Howahken means " of the mysterious voice." (this will be explored later in the story) 


End file.
